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Learning to Pack Light: Part 3

So the airline rule (for now anyway) is you are allowed 1 carry-on plus 1 personal item such as a purse. These should be small enough to fit into the overhead compartment or under the seat in front of you.
As a chronic over packer faced with her first 7hour flight this meant I should try and squeeze every legal thing I could think of into a backpack. I needed options, lots and lots of options!
Remember, I talked about over thinking and freaking out about this trip?
Yeah, here we are again. I didn’t use half the things I took.
The silliest thing I took was a folder containing about 50 DVD’s.
Because the 11 movies on my laptop and the 3 episodes of my favorite TV show on my i Phone weren’t good enough! I needed OPTIONS!
Most of my stuff just got a free tour of Europe, grinding it’s self into my back with every step I took.

This my is my carry-on now:
It’s a Samsonite brand laptop back pack. Empty weight 2.4 lbs. I got it at Office Max after I got back from Europe. It has so many nooks and storage crannys it’s unbelievable!
The front outside pocket is for your phone, passport, boarding pass, lip balm, sunglasses, anything you need to access quickly.

In the tradition of almost full disclosure here is everything I carry in it.

Laptop/charger/mouse (if it’s just a weekend trip I leave it at home. I can check my e-mail from my phone)
camera/charger
Flip
E-reader/charger (you can have 100’s of books and magazines)
glasses
3-1-1 kit
Trip file (confirmation e-mails for hotel, airplane, maps, guide articles, etc) Guide books are a packing light no-no I either photo copy the pages or the guide books are on my E-reader or i Phone
Magazine
Snacks (though in reality my snacks for a trip are not this virtuous)
Water Bottle (Check out this article by none other than Jason Mraz on water bottles, then check out these water bottles. Next time in Europe I’m getting one!)
My Knit wrap/shawl I bought about 5 years ago at Ann Taylor Loft
leggings
tank-top
warm socks
undies and bra (Not shown) No, I’m not showing my smalls on the internet!
Hair clip
Hair band (2 for 5$ at American Apparel)
sunglasses
I forgot to show my sleep mask and the feminine supplies. I’m sure you’ll forgive me for that one.

2 thoughts on “Learning to Pack Light: Part 3”

Nice entry and a cool bag. Really seems like the perfect carry-on bag. I also like the packing list. I have to say an E-reader seems like a valuable replacement for carrying around books and newspapers. Thanks for the inspiration!